


Give Me Some of Those Hot (Cross) Buns

by Hoodedscarlet



Category: Rooster Teeth/Achievement Hunter RPF
Genre: Bakery!AU, M/M, Multi
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-04-19
Updated: 2014-04-26
Packaged: 2018-01-19 23:24:42
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 9,544
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1487959
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Hoodedscarlet/pseuds/Hoodedscarlet
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Prompt from iamtheoneinthehole: AH OT6 Prompt: Bakery!AU Geoff and the gents all work at a bakery, Michael, Ray and Gavin are all regulars there that frequently eat in/flirt with the gents while they're there- none of the lads have ever met each other though since they come in at different hours. But then one day they all wind up in the bakery at the same time, all with the same intent of asking the gents to go on a date with them, and naturally shenanigans ensue ;)</p><p>-x-</p><p>Like his bread, Geoff had always been an early riser.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Dying for a Coffee

**Author's Note:**

  * For [iamtheoneinthehole (ChasingAspirations)](https://archiveofourown.org/gifts?recipient=iamtheoneinthehole+%28ChasingAspirations%29).



Like his bread, Geoff had always been an early riser.  
  
Perhaps it had been his time in the army, but nothing invigorated the man more than getting up with the sun and firing up the ovens, letting the smell of freshly baking bread and other treats fill his senses.  
Buying the bakery had always been a spur of the moment decision; faced with the question of what to do with his life there had just been something about the place that had appealed to him.  
Perhaps it was how it was just tucked away to the side, down an alleyway that you could blink and miss. Nestled amongst book and art shops, the smell of the freshly baking bread wafted invitingly between the shop signs, coaxing customers of all walks inside. Or maybe it was the homely atmosphere that encompassed him when he first stepped him; delicacies of all sorts lined up in the cases.  
Whatever it was he’d brought the place on the spot, on the condition that the woman would run it with him for a little while longer – while he could do a lot of things the ins and outs of working a bakery wasn’t one of the things he was exactly well versed in.  
  
Thankfully it hadn’t taken long to learn and the rhythm of the job soon quickly took over; while flour seemed to be permanently engrained in his clothes and speckled in his hair he just seemed so much _happier._ Of course, it wasn’t all sunshine and rainbows so to speak; balancing the bills and the cooking times of all the various things he made was a tricky wire that he couldn’t do alone – it was a shame he had to burn half a dozen batches of doughnuts though to realize that.  
  
He’d offered the job to Jack almost as a side note – a ‘hey, I know that you have your own life, but this is here if you’d like it’. Hell, Geoff was pretty convinced that it would be turned down as a lovely offer. The thing about Jack though was that he just didn’t see it as an offer; He saw his best friend and right hand man wanting a helping hand. Considering he was between jobs himself anyway, the choice was obvious.  
  
When Geoff has pressed him up against the bakery counter a couple of months later and kissed him sweet and tender with a promise upon his lips, the choice had been obvious then too.  
  
Ryan had been the last addition to their trio; two might be company, but when you’re running a whole business things escape you and suddenly three doesn’t seem like such a crowd. He’d started off as a delivery boy; a delivery boy who always ended up with a particular bakery on his list. Geoff, while getting better at the more practical side of things, was still not really an expert when it came to the numbers side of things (the army was good for a lot of things – practicing basic algebra weren’t one of those). Jack, being a now ex-construction worker, wasn’t exactly a maths whiz either.  
  
Geoff had cursed more than a couple of times when Ryan came bearing not enough flour or way too many apples – to the point where Ryan started calling ahead to double check orders personally. Calling ahead morphed into lingering after he’d emptied the truck, to talking late into the night to the point where he’d have to tear himself away so they could all get a decent night’s sleep. Before he knew it a blush would feather at his cheeks as Jack’s touches would linger just a little longer on his hands, shoulder, hips and Geoff’s innuendos suddenly didn’t seem nearly as innocent and teasing as before. It was maddening, absolutely maddening, but when Ryan had finally surged forward in a moment of brashness to kiss Jack hard on the lips Geoff’s only complaint was that he didn’t get to be the first.  
  
Needless to say, with Ryan looking after finances life got a lot easier for the three of them. Even the kitchen felt a bit livelier – sure there were still the times when the three of them would be working flat out in the kitchen, flour and sugar flying because _shit_ how had they forgotten about that one order, and how the fuck had they missed out making Belgium buns this morning?  
But it was all worth it for the end of the day come and the three men to make the short run home, Jack falling asleep in the back as the music crooned to them over the radio.  
  
They’d never been happier.  
  
-x-  
  
When Michael had first come into the bakery, it had been with a hiss and a roar; the redhead had been muttering something about his ‘fucking car breaking down how the fuck am I going to make it to work now?’ as he snatched a BLT out of the cabinet. Jack, ever the consoler, had quietly asked if there was anything that they could do to help. It seemed to snap Michael out of it just enough to explain the situation as the furious red began to disappear from his cheeks; he’d had a remarkably shitty morning rewiring some stubborn cables, and now on the way to another job his car engine had decided to just give up on him. It was currently being towed away, but the younger man had added with a grimace that now he’d have to go through all the joys of insurance claim.  
  
He’d made a move to leave but Ryan had called out to him, suggesting that perhaps he should stay because what was he going to do anyway? Walk to his next job? The redhead had mumbled in agreement, slumping down in his seat still silently fuming – which had changed surprisingly quickly when Geoff had offered him a coffee on the house. It had been a couple hours when Michael had finally excused himself from the shop, offering a surprisingly bright smile as he left.

While definitely not unwanted,it had been to everybody’s surprise that a week later no sooner had the sign on the door flipped around for the day that who other than Michael had trotted into the room, rubbing the sleep from his eyes. Despite his humor being muted a bit by the dregs of sleep, he would slip easily into banter with the three boys as he brought his lunch for the day and coffee to power him till then. Jack had his order memorized after a week and the other two weren’t far behind; a bacon and egg sandwich and a coffee black with ‘a shitload’ of sugar in it.  
  
Ryan had teased him once about that; adding in that he never would have thought that with such a volatile temper Michael would be such a sweetie. Michael had then proceeded to disembowel him, because _oh yeah, like you can talk because there is only one man in this god damn bakery that can out-sweet talk Geoff and makes sugar mysteriously appear in Jack’s beard after one of your ‘private talks’, and it sure as fuck isn’t me!_ Geoff had only laughed, before pointing out that Michael had also brought an apple turnover today and perhaps Michael wanted to rethink who had the sweeter spot when the lad had brought one of the sweetest treats in the whole damn shop.  
The shade of red Michael had turned as he stormed out of the shop was comedy gold.  
  
Michael was back the next day as usual though, and the next, and the next. Because when it came down to the wire the little bakery down the lane had the best god damn food he’d ever tasted. And the fact that the bakers weren’t exactly eyesores themselves was a very thick layer of icing on the cake - and boy, did Michael like icing.  
  
-x-

If there was a single word to describe Gavin, it was ‘dumbass’.  
  
It wasn’t the first, or second, or even third time that the three bakers had really gotten to know him; no, before that he was merely the oddly charming Brit that came in every other day for lunch. Perhaps they’d occasionally notice the odd British slang peppered into his speech or the child-like exuberance that radiated out from him, but certainly nothing out of the ordinary.  
No, the first time they had really notice Gavin had been one Friday, when the man had come for lunch, eaten, and left – leaving behind one rather expensive looking laptop propped under his chair  
  
It had taken until the end of the day for the Brit to come barreling back into the front room, all but pleading with Geoff if he’d seem his laptop because he was a bloody idiot and how had he lost it? When Geoff had pulled it out from behind the counter Gavin had all but dragged the older man into a hug over the counter – personal space was for suckers, apparently – before proceeding to ask if there was any way he could return the favor; that laptop contained a shit load of data that was important to run and troubleshoot his Phantom and really, it wouldn’t be any sweat off his back if he helped out for an hour or so.  
  
So that was how Gavin found himself with a mop in hand, swabbing away at the lino floor as the oh so appealing smell of baking biscuits warmed the room. It was hardly the work the younger man was accustomed to – the gents swore they’d never heard a man say so many ridiculous swears in under an hour, nor had they ever seen a man almost knock over a bucket of water so many times in that same timeframe. Perhaps Ryan had a little too much fun poking fun at the man’s accent, or Geoff had taken just a little too much pleasure in giving Gavin the first chocolate chew of the batch, but it had all been done with a laugh and a smile and Gavin far from minded.  
It was almost as if Gavin had only been acting incompetent to spark conversation (which it certainly had) - with the young man’s help, clean-up had taken significantly less time. So when Ryan had found a ‘mysterious’ fifty dollar note in the tip jar not two minutes after Gavin had left he had only laughed.  
  
When Gavin had returned the next day on the tail end of the lunch crowd, Ryan had slid the note back to him alongside his receipt – and thus had begun an exchange that had lasted nearly a whole god damn week. The note found itself in the bag or shoved into open hand until Gavin had finally said if the three of them wouldn’t take the god damn cash he’d just buy its worth in cookies or something. Jack, having taking register duty that particular lunchtime, had finally accepted the money on the three’s behalf after that. Apparently he'd only done so on the reasoning that wasting that many cookies was simply terrible and he’d never been that invested in this little war that had been going on anyway.  
  
Nether less, the events has cemented the lane way bakery as Gavin’s favorite – and if the Brit ever said he was looking forward to the food more than the bakers themselves, he was lying through his bloody teeth.  
  
-x-  
  
It had been absolutely bucketing down when Ray had first come into the gent’s bakery; with his coat tightly wrapped around him he had been a surprising interruption to the otherwise sleepy day. His hair was sticking to his face and he was already shivering from the cold of the rain seeping into his bones. The man had only intended to stay for a moment too, but after the weather outside only proceeded to thunder down harder and harder the Puerto Rican had no choice but to accept defeat.  
  
Jack had made the man his coffee (milky with two sugars) and had brought it over; but the younger man had a talent for pulling a person so easily into conversation and Jack was no exception. With a charisma that was pulled straight from the covers of a fairy tale the two effortlessly found themselves in conversation, jumping from one topic to another as if they hadn't only just met. Two became three, and three became four as the other two bakers joined them from the kitchen; Geoff slinging an arm possessively around Jack’s waist in a silent state of claim because there was just something about the way Jack had been pulled so easily into conversation that had him suspicious. But even he relaxed under the young man’s charm, and oh, how on earth was it seven o’clock already? Ray had to laugh as well; just because it was his fault they had talked so late didn’t mean he was aware that he did it.  
  
And as his afternoon visits turned into a daily thing that he always looked forward to Ray had to laugh – because as charming as he was these events were just as much their fault as they were his. Because it wasn’t like he _intended_ to stay as long as he did.  
But then Jack would bring over his coffee with a smile that warmed him from the inside out, and then Ryan would wander over with a mad gleam in his eye because he’d _finally_ figured out the right apple to blackberry ratio for a new fruit tart. Geoff would eventually appear out of the kitchen behind the two of them; some days he would be huffing and calling his boyfriends ‘bags of dicks’ because there was so much to do and Ray would be there after they tidied up a bit, you know. Some days though, the man would bet even Jack to the punch – because even a man as passionate about their jobs as Geoff has their off days, and Ray was just the thing to cure it. Granted, it was usually a cure that came a few hours too late, but it left him more than happy.  
  
For Ray, the place was a dream come true – a recluse in a world that was too busy, and with friends that would always look out for him.  
  
-x-  
  
 _I love them._  
  
Michael had realized it one sleepy Tuesday, when he really shouldn’t have gotten out of bed. His head was pounding, his mouth was dry and every step seemed like a marathon effort, but he just swallowed some pills and gritted his teeth. "It'll pass." He'd told himself, taking a moment to sit in the car and let his vision come together. "It's just a shitty morning, it'll pass."  
He knew that they hadn’t needed to accommodate him; that really it wasn’t outside their job description for Jack to say nothing more than a ‘feeling under the weather?’, for Ryan to not even cast a second glance, for Geoff to wait on him the next day and not even remember the way that Michael had walked in looking like death warmed up.  
  
But Jack had been by his side, literally, as soon as the man had stumbled into the bakery. He was the support he needed and he fell onto his strong body; he smelt like sugar and pastry and something he couldn’t quite put his finger on when it felt like there was a battering ram forcing itself against his skull.  
Ryan had been over with the red head's usual drink, in a takeaway cup because ‘there is no way in hell you’re staying here looking like that’.  
Geoff had offered to drive the redhead home as soon as he saw the state the man was in, still leaning against Jack and holding back the part of him that told him to nuzzle into the warmth and compliment the older man on how nice he smelt. (It would be so _easy_ to do though…)  
  
Michael had tried to fight it, he really had because he’d already taken Jack’s comfort and free coffee and he honestly couldn’t take a ride home as well – he’d driven himself here, he could manage it back. But when his vision swam when he tried to even just support himself on his own two feet, Geoff had snatched the car keys out of Michael’s hands, ushering the sick man into the car and taking the driver’s seat for himself.  
Perhaps he should have been a little more cautious about letting somebody take his car keys – but he _knew_ Geoff. He knew how the man loved nothing more to get his hands dirty in the kitchen, how he delighted in the smooth jazz that would play on the radio in the early hours of the morning, how he looked at his boyfriends with a tenderness in his eyes that surely couldn’t be contained in such a small place.  
  
When he shuffled back under the covers of his bed, his head pounding, he knew he wanted nothing more than to be a part of that too.  
  
-x-  
  
 _I love them._  
  
Gavin had realized as it all crashed down on him at once.  
  
It’d been just another Tuesday afternoon, and Gavin had quickly made it inside as the wind bothered and blowed down the alleyway. As usual for him, there wasn’t anybody else inside the shop and so when Ryan had waved him over to the counter and asked him if he wanted the usual there was nothing stopping him.  
  
Except when he glanced behind the shelving.  
  
If one was used to coming into the bakery down the lane, you would know if you stood at just the right angle you could see into the kitchen – Gavin had abused that power a few times as he watched the three gents make bread or sausage rolls and promptly drooled over all the nice food.  
However, when he glanced over today he was _not_ expecting to see two very familiar men mid makeout – Jack with his arms wrapped around his lover and pulling him in tight and Geoff kissing his neck- no, _marking_ his neck and he could see the angry red skin from here.  
The three bakers were always so considerate when it came to their relationship – while they certainly didn’t shy away from showing affection as they worked, they didn’t _usually_ latch onto each other like horny school boys.  
Yet as Gavin looked back to his food and receipt with a blush burning his cheeks, he had to admit to himself that they were - no more than the slither of _want_ that wormed its way into the pit of his stomach.  
  
Thankfully, by the time Ryan brought him his coffee his embarrassment (and maybe-a-bit-of-attraction) had been pounded back into the depths from which it came, and the Brit threw himself into the conversation with the enthusiasm he was so well known for.  
But he was barely able to hold himself together when the other two joined them, and Gavin could _see_ the way that Jack’s collar was oh so subtly shifted to try and hide the bruises, the way that Geoff’s cheeks were just a little bit more flushed than usual and well _fuck_ he was screwed.  
The gents would wonder why Gavin seemed a bit more eager to get out of the bakery than usual – then again usually Gavin wasn’t having a bloody relationship crisis; and certainly not about three men that were most _certainly_ taken.  
  
-x-  
  
 _I love them._  
  
Ray hadn’t realized in any particular moment that he loved the three bakers down the lane; no, it was just a combination of little moments. How he began to cherish the way that Ryan would brush over his knuckles when he served him, how Jack would always slip an extra chocolate chip biscuit into Ray’s bag, how he found a smile so effortlessly brightened his face when Geoff appeared from the kitchen.  
  
The admiration, the love for the three gents bloomed like the roses that Ray loved so much, and he found himself being drawn to the shop and just…. Watching. Watching the three men interact, the jokes that they’d throw between the three of them, the smiles that held promises that Ray couldn’t even begin to decode. The promises he wanted to know for himself, to know and to have ones of his own that he could whisper into the dark when he knew they could hear.  
The thought had appeared quietly in the back of his head as he drunk his coffee one Friday evening, first as a passing though, but one that Ray had quickly grabbed onto to mull over in his mind. By the time that Ryan had pulled up a chair and straddled it to face the Puerto Rican, conversation on his lips, a plan was already formulating in the younger man's head.  
  
Because they had been flirting with him these past few weeks… Right? He knew for certain that they certainly didn’t treat other customers with the same attentive care they did for him, didn’t talk for hours like they did with him and perhaps that was just his ego showing through but a part of him so desperately hoped there was a chance for him. For them.  
  
Sunday the bakery was closed; perhaps if he came by tomorrow night, same time as always, he could probably get the three of them alone. Just talk with them as usual - maybe slide in the question and see what they said.  
Yeah.  
That sounded good.  
  
-x-  
  
Ray had not expected, however, to find two other men outside the bakery the next night as well. He’d specifically picked this time of the night to avoid the last dregs of people coming into the bakery; yet now here he was, standing with two other guys that were looking as nervous as he felt and… wait, what?  
  
“What are you doing here?” he asked them, tucking his hands into the pockets of his hoodie. The chill of the night was already setting in, and not for the first time Ray was thankful that the alleyway was protected from the brunt of the weather.  
  
“I could ask you the same question.” The redhead replied, giving Ray a look that was somewhere between a glare and an inquisitive look. He was the shortest out of the three with a dead set determination behind his eyes.  
  
“I only came now because I didn’t think anybody else would be around.” The other man protested, his British accent prominent as he spoke. Out of the three of them, he also seemed to be the most nervous, his gaze flicking back to where the bakers shifted around inside as they tidied up for the day.  
  
“Why?”  
  
“Because I wanted to talk to them.”  
  
“I do too.” Ray and the red head replied in sync, looking over at each other with a look on their faces that just screamed _what the fuck are you even doing_.  
  
“Okay, let’s just get this out of the way now.” Ray said, shaking his head. “I’m here because those three have been flirting nonstop with me and I would _like_ some time alone with them.”  
  
A beat of silence.  
  
“…Me too.” The Brit replied, with the very essence of a confused look on his face.  
  
“Wait, are we all here just to hit on Geoff and stuff?”  
  
“Looks like it.” Ray replied. And then the red head went ahead and fucking _laughed._  
  
“Oh please, those guys are so in love with me, I’m sure you’re just reading it wrong.” He said, grinning.  
  
“Well do they talk with you mingepots for hours?”  
  
“Actually, yeah, they do.” Ray added grinning as well and even Gavin, as oblivious as he could be, could feel the tension in the air. It wasn’t bad though; it was just… Competitive.  
  
“The name’s Michael.”  
  
“Ray.”  
  
“Gavin.”  
  
“We going to make this a game?” Michael added on, a devilish smirk on his face and oh, if his heart wasn’t already set on three very attractive men already Ray was _sure_ that Michael would have taken that place already.  
  
“Fuck it, I mean YOLO, right?” Ray added, mirroring the shorter man’s expression.  
  
“Can’t see why not.” Gavin agreed.  
  
“First one to crack the boys, gets the boys?” Ray said.  
  
“Well you better be bloody ready to lose.” Gavin replied, a cutthroat look in his eye that just dared either of them not to take him seriously.  
  
“Then its settled-“  
  
“Wait, what the fuck you guys doing?” Geoff asked, pulling open the door. “It’s cold as dicks out there!”  
  
“Nothing much.” Ray said, flashing a grin that said _you don’t even know what you’ve gotten yourselves into_ towards the other two guys as he all but sauntered forward. “Just coming in for the regular, you know?”  
  
“Gathered that.” Geoff said, before looking at the other two. “Doesn’t explain why you two dickheads are here.”  
  
“Shorter way home.” Michael said, the lie rolling off his tongue silky smooth as he smirked in Ray’s direction. “Thought I might stop by and see if you needed some help.”  
  
“I didn’t buy any bread this morning.” Gavin added on. “And since you’re going to be closed tomorrow I thought I might just stop in now.” Geoff looked more than a little confused, but waved it off.  
  
“Whatever- Wait, have you guys met?”  
  
“We’ve talked.” Michael said, and oh boy, that shit eating grin was going to simply _kill_ him. If Geoff noticed anything fishy happening between the three of them, he didn’t say anything – probably a good thing too.  
  
“What’s even going on out there?” Ryan yelled, walking out a couple of seconds later before registering Ray, Michael and Gavin all standing there. “Wait, you guys know each other.”  
  
“We’ve talked, we’ve talked.” Ray replied, waving off the comment with a hand before flashing a smile that was all kinds of flirtatious. “Now, I’m actually pretty damn cold right now, so I’m kind of dying for a coffee right about now.”  
  
“And that bread isn’t going to buy itself!” Gavin piped up, offering an equally dorky grin to the congregation.  
  
“Might as well buy a coffee for the road.” Michael said with a shrug, following the rest of the group into the bakery and making a show out of the way he flirted with Jack at the counter.  
  
This was going to be an interesting week.


	2. Dying for a Kiss

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Second half of the prompt from iamtheoneinthehole: AH OT6 Prompt: Bakery!AU Geoff and the gents all work at a bakery, Michael, Ray and Gavin are all regulars there that frequently eat in/flirt with the gents while they’re there- none of the lads have ever met each other though since they come in at different hours. But then one day they all wind up in the bakery at the same time, all with the same intent of asking the gents to go on a date with them, and naturally shenanigans ensue ;)
> 
> -x-
> 
> There had been something weird going on ever since he’d found the three lads standing outside his bakery that Saturday night.

There had been something weird going on ever since he’d found the three lads standing outside his bakery that Saturday night.  
  
Geoff had a pretty good bullshit meter on him, and while helped on the very rare instances that people though his bakery would be a prime target for theft, he wasn’t expecting it to start going off around his three most favoured customers. Nor was he expecting it to go off around all three of them in the _same place._ Hell, he’d never seen Michael or Gavin at the bakery anywhere near this late, and the looks on their faces… Well, he was kind of kicking himself now for not asking what the dicks had gotten into the lads.  
  
All he knew was that from then on, there had been something… interesting bubbling between them. A sort of potent energy, and if Geoff was younger and more gullible he would’ve said it was goddamn flirtatious. But age brought wisdom and all that crap, and why the hell would they be flirting with him and his boys of all things? It wasn’t like they didn’t make it clear to them that they were taken – hugs behind the counter, pecks as the bread rose. They were his gents, they were his trio, they were _complete._  
(Even as he said it there was a whisper of doubt in his mind, a part of him that wondered what it would be like to not have a cold side when he fell asleep at night, if Jacks heart ten sizes too big for him was supposed to love more than just them, if Ryan’s mad ideas weren’t meant to be sated by only two.)  
  
Michael had arrived at his regular time today, and as happy as the gent had been to see him, the cheese straws still hadn’t been baked for the day. So one thing had led to another and now the redhead was propped on one of the counters, watching him knead the dough with a sort of rampant fascination that was pretty rare for him – granted, it was probably disguising his usual anger at all mankind, but it was interesting to say the least.  
  
“You got something to say?”  
  
“Hm?”  
  
“You’ve been quiet as dicks for the past few minutes, had to make sure you’re still alive.” Geoff teased, a smile widening on his face. Michael scoffed in return.  
  
“Just because I’m not chewing your ear off doesn’t mean I fucking died on you.”  
  
“Say Michael, the guy who single-handedly gave me a headache.”  
  
“You were sick for the next week!”  
  
“Well you started it.” Geoff said, with a cheeky grin on his face.  
  
“Jesus fucking Christ Geoff.” Michael said, burying his face in his hands and huffing impatiently. “Which one of us again is thirty something years old?” The comment didn’t phase the older man though and he laughed, pausing in his dough kneading to give Michael an incredulous look.  
  
“I swear to dicks that you could get angry over anything. Hell, you could get angry over my cheese straws and I wouldn’t even be surprised.” He expected Michael to venomously deny his claim, proving it in the process like the dipshit he was. However, the redhead just gave him a devilish grin.  
  
“Your cheese straws? Well fuck, where do I even begin with those? You’re running around acting like they’re the best fucking thing since sliced bread, well guess what buddy? Guess what?” He said, jabbing Geoff in the chest and he’d be stupid not to see the glimmer in Michael’s eye that told him he was actually really enjoying this. “You don’t even slice your own god damn bread, you just fucking chuck it in a bag and throw it around and you know what? I’m a busy fucking man and the last thing I need to do in the morning is slice my own damn bread!”  
  
“And speaking of slicing-“ Michael paused for a moment, picking up the bag of grated cheese sitting on the end of the bench. “-you can’t even slice your own fucking cheese? Fucking hell, I thought I’d met some lazy ass people but you take the fucking cake. All you need to do is slide a fucking block against another block, hell this sounds like a fucking video game and you can’t even get your head around it. And you’re using swiss? _Swiss fucking cheese?!_ God fucking damnit I’m done with your poncey ass and your fancy fucking cheese and your inability to use a knife on shit I’m done. This is bullshit, you’re bullshit. I’m fucking gone. Goodbye.”  
  
“…Holy shit.” Geoff said, taking another moment to be stunned before bursting into laughter because _holy shit._ If anybody could make a living out of getting mad it was that guy, and yes, it was definitely fear making his heart skip in his chest, not the way the flush lit up Michael's cheeks or the breath taking smile that just crossed the young man's face and-  
  
“You two okay in there?!” Ryan asked with a laugh, poking his head around the corner.  
  
“ _Fucking_ fabulous.” Michael said, and if he just stressed the word he thought he did- Oh, Geoff was _fucked.  
  
_ “Don’t have too much fun without us.” Jack added with a grin, poking his head out from under Ryan as the man wrapped his arms around him. “Cleaning cabinets isn’t fun believe it or not – I can’t believe you won that Geoff.”  
  
“What can I say, I’m used to getting up first.”  
  
“I can make you get up first.” Michael said just under his breath and _god damnit not now._ If his boyfriends noticed the embarrassment on Geoff’s face, they didn’t say anything, only made another quip about hurrying up with those cheese straws before getting back to cleaning and setting up the store front for the day. _  
_  
“Thank you, thank you, I’ll be here all night.” Michael said with a flourish, bowing low and wearing that grin that Geoff loved so much on and _god_ did Michael even know what he was doing to him? Geoff could feel the butterflies fluttering in his chest, their wings tickling his spine and making him shiver.  
  
Trying to ignore the feeling, he instead busied himself with rolling out the cheese straws, sprinkling a little bit of extra cheese on each one ‘for luck’.  
Conversation fell in line again, but Michael quickly volunteered to help him, because it was a late start for him today anyway. He had time to spare and what better way to use it than help out his good friend? And maybe Michael purred out the word ‘friend’ like it was supposed to mean so much more but now all Geoff was concerned about was how close Michael was. How he could feel his shoulders brush against his, feel his body shake when he laughed. He knew he should’ve pushed Michael away because he wasn’t born yesterday and there was something more than a little coquettish about the whole thing … But damnit, it felt so _nice_ and couldn’t he indulge for just a little?  
  
When Michael finally left, Geoff could feel the prickle of an unfulfilled kiss on his lips – and it wasn’t a feeling that either of his boyfriends could take away.  
  
-x-  
  
Where was everybody?  
  
Having walked into the bakery and finding the counter... Oddly deserted, Gavin had taken the initiative and made his way into the kitchen. To his surprise, Geoff and Jack were nowhere to be seen – however, Ryan was busy pouring over some concoction.  
The blonde was always one for the crazier ideas; ideas the other two men wouldn’t have even given a second thought, had they come up with it. but the madder of the three entertained each one with a enthusiasm that was near legendary. He’d said once that thinking of new recipes kept him sane at night when sleep wouldn’t come, and while some of his ideas had been less than a success (the mango and beef pie was never to be spoken of again) the tart he was working on now was looking, and smelling, incredible.  
  
“Bloody hell, that smells bloody top!”  
  
Ryan, so caught up in his tart, nearly stabbed himself when the Brit shocked the ever living fuck out of him.  
  
“Where the hell did you come from?!”  
  
“Outside.” Gavin replied, a dopey grin crossing his face. Ryan just rolled his eyes, returning to the food in front of him. However, the Brit was not one to be ignored, and so he crept forward, grinning cheekily.  
  
“What you doing?”  
  
“Stuff that needs to be done soon.”  
  
“What is that?”  
  
“A thing.”  
  
“What sort of thing?”  
  
“…”  
  
The older of the two was clearly trying to concentrate – but by the way the man’s mouth threatened to twitch into a smile clearly showed that the Brit’s quips weren’t unwanted.  
  
“…You know luv, when I’m around we both know bread’s not the only thing rising.”  
  
“What?” Ryan said, an incredulous look on his face as he looked up from his work.  
  
“I’m the biggest sweet tooth you’ll ever meet and luv, you’re just made of sugar.”  
  
“What are you even doing?” While the voice was near deadpan, Ryan was breaking out into a grin and oh, Gavin _knew_ he had the man wrapped around his finger.  
  
“You must have been made at this bakery, because you’re a cutie pie.”  
  
“That doesn’t even make sense.”  
  
“You should make like your muffins and go straight to my thighs.”  
  
“Says the guy who if I look at wrong’s going to snap in half – there’s nothing going to your thighs right now and we both know it.”  
  
“Are you a potato? Because you are bangin'.”  
  
“Okay, what do you want?” Ryan said, shaking his head and laughing. Gavin just grinned, wriggling up beside Ryan and closing the space between them. Slowly, his fingers trailed along the older man’s shoulders, dipping up to tease at the blonde hair the Brit so desperately wanted to muss. But that wasn’t the aim of the game, as he spidered his fingers lower and lower down the other man's back, feeling the shiver that wracked Ryan’s frame and delighting it. He could feel the older man’s pulse beginning to race, his breath starting to come heavy – yet as soon as his hands reached the swell of his ass Gavin pulled away. He swore Ryan was about to protest, near about to drag him back in and finish the job. But the older man didn’t have that power – the Brit did and he leaned in until the other man could feel his breath on his ear.  
  
“We both know I wasn’t joking about the rising 'bread'.”  
  
And just like that Gavin pulled was gone, out of the kitchen, out of the bakery leaving a very confused and aroused Ryan in his wake. If the baker had proceeded to try and ignore the strain in his pants, then it was completely expected; if not too long after the same baker had given up and gone on a ‘bathroom break’ then that was to be completely expected as well.  
  
Gavin made it two blocks away before realizing that caught up in all the excitement he hadn’t brought lunch – and when he finally did, the stale bread with not enough meat and too much butter reminded the Brit just why he’d started going to the little laneway bakery in the first place.  
  
-x-  
  
By the time Ray usually came in most days, the bakery was always quiet. Granted, it was unusual for the place to be packed outside lunchtime, but the evening slowed the customers to a trickle, reserved only for those who had forgotten their bread for the day – or those who perhaps couldn’t afford the fresher loaves on the shelves. There was a particular lady that Jack was fond of, an older woman with hair like quicksilver and a heart of butter who would take the burnt loaves or the ones that didn’t turn out quite right.  
It was no secret that Jack cared a lot for those around him. Sometimes, Geoff would mumble into his neck that it was too much, that any other man would be spreading himself thin with the amount of love that he could give out in a day. But there was just something in him that needed to be quenched, a longing that need to be filled.  
  
But even men like him could have a bad day.  
Through years of persistence and pestering, Jack had managed to get his boyfriends to swallow their pride and find solace in his arms. But for him, the process wasn’t that easy – because _he_ was the support, he was the rock and if that crumbled, what would they have left? And sure, Geoff had his kind words and Ryan had his gestures that could cross a gap a mile wide but he couldn’t bring himself to bite out the words.  
  
Ray knew.  
Ray knew before he even walked in the door, before he even saw the light gone from Jack’s eyes because the place just felt _off._ The older man had a calming presence over the shop that was like a blanket swaddling everything that came in– and well, when you tore holes in a blanket you can feel the breeze.  
  
“Hey man, what’s up?” Jack looked up from the cash register with a start, eyes wide for a spilt second before he registered who was talking.  
  
“Nothing much, nothing you need to worry-“  
  
“Actually I do.” Ray said, before pulling up a chair and gesturing for Jack to come over and do the same. “You look like shit man, can I help?”  
  
And Jack had gone to rebut, gone to say no, he was a grown man and he’d just get over it, but the lump in his throat wasn’t going away. So he’d came and sat down (Ray’s hot drink in hand – he was still a customer after all, even if their talks went way beyond friendly acquaintances) and while Jack had tried to stay composed it wasn’t long before he was resting his head on Ray’s side, mumbling about the bad day where nothing seemed to be going his way. He’d dented a few of their best baking trays, he’d burnt several dozen cookies - Hell, he’d had dropped a whole bunch of muffins on the ground and been accused of doing it on purpose. Oh, he knew that Ryan had only been teasing but he’d been pulled up and strung too tightly today and the words sliced right through him like he was paper.  
  
By the time Jack had composed himself again, he realized he didn’t really want to move. Despite loving the work just as much as his boys he couldn’t deny that it took it out of him – it was why he didn’t always work Saturdays, why he never lasted the car ride home as sleep calmed him and claimed him before he could protest.  
He forgot sometimes how much he liked having Ray around – and if his lips weren’t about to let slip an entirely other ‘L’ word in place of ‘like’ then the warmth he felt in his chest was surely a lie.  
  
Geoff and Ryan found them a few minutes later, and it hadn’t been long before Ray had been shooed out as the two older men realized just how blind they’d been to Jack’s mood. But as he clicked the door shut behind him, Ray had to pause and collect himself, fingers playing over the smooth metal of the door handle. If he didn’t, he knew he’d be right back in there, in Jack’s warm embrace with Ryan and Geoff on either side and he didn’t care how unlikely it was they wanted a fourth member in their trio right now, he just wanted to be a part of it.  
  
He just had to hope so did they.  
  
-x-  
  
“What are you doing here?”  
  
Michael had to pause in his stride, turning slowly to face the Puerto Rican who seemed to have melted out of the shadows behind him. The cold bit at his cheeks and nose; the redhead could see his breath curling like a dragon’s flame out of the corner of his eye.  
  
“I’m going to the bakery.” Michael said. “Whats it to you?”  
  
“They’re closed.” Ray replied, raising an eyebrow.  
  
“Never stopped you before.”  
  
“Well, they like me better.”  
  
“Oh, we starting this now?” Michael said, taking a step closer to the younger man as a grin that was all sorts of predatory crossed his face. “Going to act like a little girl and bring out the cheap shots?”  
  
“I’d argue with you, but I prefer to pick on people my own size.” Ray took another step forward, their chests brushing, eyes locked and the way that Ray’s lips turned into a smirk made something turn in his stomach that wasn't entirely unpleasant.  
  
“Bet you don’t even have the balls to.” Michael whispered.  
And suddenly he was being shoved up against the brick wall, wrists pinned and Ray’s lips smashing against his own and _god_ , it was all kinds of perfect. Michael pressed himself into Ray’s body, nipping at the other man’s lip and it was supposed to snow tonight but he felt like he was about to burn up as their lips mashed together and their tongues warred and their breath mingled in the air. Ray finally let go of his wrists to grab at his collar and Michael didn’t let his new found freedom go to waste, burying his fingers in the black hair that felt so soft under his hands.  
  
He didn’t even know how much he wanted this until now, especially as Ray pressed their hips together and _oh._ He whimpered into his mouth, grinding back and this really wasn’t how he was expecting the evening to go but he wasn’t complaining at all.  
  
“You wanna take this somewhere more private?” He mumbled into Ray’s neck, biting the flesh and grinning as it turned an angry red.  
  
“Unless you get off on this sort of thing.” Ray replied with a smirk, hands sliding down his back and making him shiver and maybe Michael consider it for a second longer than he should’ve but he didn't exactly have enough blood in his head right now.  
  
“My car’s- ah!- parked around the corner.” Michael managed to spit out as Ray’s hands groped his butt and _wow_ he’d forgotten how good that felt.  
By the time they made it to Ray’s apartment, the air was again thick with tension – but as the two of them stumbled into the bedroom all hands and moans and rash decisions they quickly realized this time it was a tension they could solve.  
  
-x-  
  
“Okay, I’m up here to here with those dicks right now.”  
  
The two other men shot up, looking over at the older of the three – who looked just about ready to throw the cookie dough he was mixing at the wall.  
  
“What?”  
  
“Alright, tell me I’m not the only one who’s getting hit on.” Geoff said, shaking his head. “Michael’s been getting touchy-feely, Ray’s been leaving fucking roses everywhere and Gavin – well, I think I’ve heard enough pickup lines to last a lifetime.”  
  
“Did you get the one about the eggs?” Ryan asked. Geoff just sighed in exasperation, shaking his head.  
  
“I got the one about the eggs, the pie, the oysters and every other one you can think of. He’s taken this joke way too far.” Geoff said, rubbing his temples. God, this was doing his head in especially since-  
  
“What if he’s not joking?” Jack suggested, looking down at his hands for a moment- and was he _blushing?  
  
_ “I mean, this is Gavin we’re talking about.” Ryan added. “He’s not always the most... straightforward of people when he wants to make a point. He likes to dance around things just a bit.”  
  
“What are you trying to say?” Geoff said, even as a part of him already sung the same answer; already knew from the look on Jack’s face or the determined yet slightly vulnerable look on Ryan’s face, knew from the way it felt like his very soul was about to jump out of his chest that he already knew the answer.  
  
“I think he wants in.”  
  
“They all do.”  
  
“And?” And Geoff just couldn’t understand why he was so opposed to this. Why there was a part of him that was unsettled- no, _scared_ about the possibility of three men wanting in on this thing he had going.  
With two other men.  
There would be six of them.  
Jesus dicks he’s fourteen years older than Ray _what the fuck is he thinking.  
_  
(On second thought maybe he understood why he was a scared.)  
  
“Well… I’m fine with it.” Jack admitted, scratching at his beard in that cute way he did. “More than fine, actually. They’re really nice.”  
  
“Also attractive.” Ryan added, and oh there was the familiar mad grin of the man he loved. “I mean, it’s not like they don’t come and talk to us a hell of a lot anyway. Plus, I know how you’ve been looking at them.” He paused for a moment, allowing his comment to sink in before walking over to Geoff. Strong, familiar hands were on his shoulders and he was met with the pale eyes he loved so much, enveloped with the scent of one of the people he was sure he was going to spend the rest of his life with.  
  
“You know we’re not going to even consider this if you’re not okay with it.” Ryan said, rubbing circles into his shoulders. Geoff just nodded, unable to meet Ryan’s eyes for a moment. Because he knew that in all honesty? He wanted this. He wanted to know how to make Michael grin like a bastard, to actually see Ray’s face when he gave them roses, to not need to say goodbye to Gavin at the end of the night. But at the same time there was just that small niggle of doubt in the back of his mind – and it was clouding everything he thought.  
  
He was interrupted by Jack leaning in, taking the older gent’s face in one hand and kissing him softly, and there was nothing but good intentions and sweetness in the action.  
“So just the three of us?-“  
  
“No.” Geoff replied, trying to show the certainty in his words despite the way his voice wavered. “I… I want this. But can we just talk about it a bit more?”  
  
“Of course.” Ryan agreed, plopping the kneaded dough a tin for the night. “Let’s go home. We can talk more there.”  
  
-x-  
  
“Alright, so you would get paid half a million dollars. Straight off, no minging about…. But you get a period every month for a year.”  
  
“Oh that’s definitely not enough money.” Geoff replied with a laugh, setting the last of the caramel slice into the display cabinet. “If I'm bleeding out my anus ever month I want at least a million. Preferably three.”  
  
“Even if like, almost nothing comes out?” Gavin replied with a cheeky smile, watching the older gent knead dough in a steady rhythm, press and stretch, press and stretch. He’d seen Geoff do the process a million times (the man prided himself on always having at least one loaf hot out of the oven during the lunch rush) but there was something strangely hypnotizing about watching him go through the motion, tattooed arms flexing with each push. It made the images on his arms seem to almost dance, and that was intriguing all in itself.  
  
“Gavin there would literally be rotting flesh falling out of me once a month.” Geoff replied, shaking his head. “I think it’s pretty smart to be skeptical about that, even if I am getting paid cash money.”  
  
“Fine, fine you cheeky bugger.” Gavin replied with a laugh. “Hoooow about… You get paid a grand for every time you sneeze, but if you don’t sneeze at least seven times in a week you have to clean the bakery floor – with your tongue.”

“Hell yeah I’d do it!” Geoff said, grinning “Pepper would mean I'm just rolling in it.”  
  
“Would you do it even if you couldn’t make yourself sneeze? I mean, you’d still be sneezy-er than the average person, but were talking higher chances of lino meeting mouth.”  
  
“...How bad?”  
  
“Liiiiike, one in ten chance?”  
  
“So every three months?” Geoff replied incredulously, raising an eyebrow.  
  
“Sure!”  
  
“Hell no.” He said firmly. “People bring in some weird as dicks things on their shoes. One every few years, maybe? Not once every few _months._ ”  
  
“Fair enough, fair enough.” Gavin paused, thinking up another question but then suddenly Geoff pulled his hands away from the dough, looking up at Gavin with unreadable expression on his face.  
  
“I’ve got a question for you now. If you like.”  
  
“Sure.” Gavin replied, and not for the first time Geoff could see how the man read like an open book - he could see the confusion flicker across his face because really? This was Gavin game. Geoff was usually content to ‘suffer’ at the barrage of questions that the Brit threw at him – him turning the tables was something different entirely. Geoff walked up to the younger man; he smelt of butter and dough and masculinity and it made a shiver run down Gavin’s spine.  
  
“Gav… What if I told you that I loved you?”  
  
The silence between the two of them was deafening as the Brit struggled for an answer, and for a moment Geoff was worried that he’d made a terrible, terrible mistake. He could feel even the suspicion of that being the case rip through his gut like a blade.  
  
“I…”  
  
Not knowing how to word his response suddenly the Brit leaned in, and their lips pressed together and it was short and sweet but _damn,_ if Geoff hadn’t been hanging out for that moment for who knows how long. He cracked open his eyes quick enough to see Gavin’s eyelashes fanning against his cheeks, eyes squeezed tight as if to safeguard him if it all went wrong and _wow_ , even now he was an insufferable dork.  
  
“Called it.” Ryan said with a grin, coming out from behind the oven and Geoff swore that if Gavin was a cat he would have jumped about ten feet in the air right about now.  
  
“Jesus Christ, where did you come from?!” Gavin said with a start, grabbing onto Geoff’s arm and _fuck_ that was cute.  
  
“Watching this whole time.” Jack replied with a laugh, coming into the kitchen from the front of the store. “Geoff, you owe me ten bucks, I _knew_ you’d get in first.”  
  
“Wait, what?”  
  
“We want you to be our boyfriend, dumbass.” Geoff replied with a laugh. He never thought he’d say that Gavin looked about ready to explode from happiness, but here he was.  
  
“Really? That’d be tippy toppers! I totally won that bloody bet, wow, I’m so happy you guys want me!”  
  
“Of course we want you- wait, what was this about a bet?” Ryan said, interrupting himself as the pieces clicked into place. Suddenly, Gavin didn’t look so 'tippy toppers'.  
  
“Gavin.”  
  
“Gavin.”  
  
“Gavin.”  
  
“We may have bet to see who could seduce you first.” Gavin mumbled under his breath, just quiet enough for him to need to repeat it – and when he did? Well, Geoff looked about ready to ram his head into a wall.  
  
“God damnit, you’re lucky I love all of you guys because otherwise I could shove my head into the oven and give no fucks at all.”  
  
“You love all of us?” Gavin replied, eyes wide and of course that would be what the Brit would fixate on.  
  
“Well, that’s kind of part of the deal.” Jack said, scratching at his beard. “See, we kind of don’t just love you. We love you. And Michael. And Ray.”  
  
“I can see why.” Gavin added. “So wait, you’re asking all of us out?”  
  
“Its your mission, should you choose to accept it.” Ryan said with a grin.  
  
“Well Michael and Ray are way ahead of you guys.”  
  
“…How.”  
  
“How do you think?” Gavin replied, and for a man that didn’t even know the meaning of the word ‘subtlety ‘ the line was delivered with enough charm for the gents to briefly doubt the younger man, had he not proceeded to waggle his eyebrows like a fourteen year old and say that Ray was ‘particularly tippy toppers if you know what I mean.’  
  
Geoff couldn’t bring himself to care that much though, and as Jack and Ryan came forward to claim their first kisses he felt a smile breaking out onto his face – because today was the start of something greater than he could have ever imagined.  
(Perhaps that was why he fell in love with these assholes in the first place)  
  
-x-  
  
Like his bread, Geoff had always been an early riser – but not for the first time recently, the man found himself almost reluctant to get out of bed.  
Considering that both Michael and Ray had been ‘dating’ by the time the four other men had talked to them (and by ‘dating’ he meant fucking the sense out of each other because really, those two were horny animals more than half the time) it hadn’t taken much for the duo to be won over; especially since they had only gotten together because of the bloody bet anyway.  
  
As it was, Michael was cuddled into his side like a small cat, curled up against the warmth of his side. Ray had taken the end of the bed, sprawling out open mouthed and snoring softly. Jack was resting against his other side, his nose poking into his shoulder and it was a mystery to mankind why it was always cold. Ryan, as always, took the side of the bed closest to the door; a prime escape position should his insomnia choose to bother him again. And Gavin? Always the ridiculous one, the Brit was sprawled across the lot of them, his face buried in the pillows between Ryan and Jack with his feet half dangling off the end of the matress.  
The bed was so full – even though they’d had it custom ordered it still felt like they were jammed in. But honestly? It was perfect.  
They were perfect.  
  
The last six months had been nothing but bliss, and perhaps the household was louder than most but Geoff wouldn’t trade it for anything in the world. Slowly, he pulled himself up from the embrace of the bed, the last of the night’s moonlight shining through the crack in the blinds.  
  
He and his boys had some baking to do.  


**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry for this chapter being so delayed! Due to going through a irl breakup, writing fluffy stuff wasn't coming as naturally as usual. Have a longer than usual chapter to make up for that. :D  
> Kudos, comment and bookmarks are, as always, appreciated greatly. <3

**Author's Note:**

> For anybody who's curious as to what the lane where the bakery is situated looks like, its something along [these lines.](http://tinyurl.com/ktt4hyu) C:


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